Foreverlost
by DragonShadow
Summary: After the new Everlot expansion pack is released, gamers everywhere give up their work and school for their computers. Worse yet, Zita Flores is affected too. Can Kim and Ron find out what's going on before they all whither away?
1. Part 1

Foreverlost  
  
A sunny day, with a gentle breeze flowing through the city with all the people scurrying about their normal chores. Inside a nicely air-conditioned building with the girl of his dreams, uncaring about the outside world, as their love for each other brightened an already cheerful day. Where they spent the entire day together without a care in the world. Ron Stoppable had to ask himself... was that really too much to ask for?  
  
A thunderclap from the dark clouds outside sent a shiver down his spine, and he could feel his Naked Mole Rat Rufus cowering inside the pocket of his hooded jacket. His companion Zita Flores pulled her hood back and shook out her shoulder-length mane of lustrous black hair. She gave Ron a slight smirk. "And today the weather will be bright and sunny." She mocked the news reporter they'd seen right before hitting the streets. "Sunny my foot..."  
  
"Well sunny or snowy or sad, if we're together the day isn't bad." Ron smiled brightly.  
  
"Ahhh... you saw Friends last night." Zita smirked. Ron cast his eyes down at the floor and nodded shamefully, prompting a chuckle from his girlfriend. "Well come on friend, I still have some things to pick up." She turned and walked through the small shopping mall, with Ron walking close behind her. They made their way to a small store tucked away in a back corner that was filled with strange trinkets and items for sale.  
  
"So this is where Goths get together and organize how to fight against organization." Ron quipped, picking up a small statue of a nude angel. "Nice trinkets at least." He grinned, holding it up to show Zita.  
  
"You know, there is a head on that statue." Zita smirked playfully.  
  
"Oh you're right, I thought it was just a strange growth." Ron placed the stature back in its place as Rufus shook his head 'tsk, tsk'ing him. "Hey come on, that's probably the closest I'll get to a real one for years."  
  
Zita rolled her eyes and approached the desk clerk. "I need the 2004 die-cast model of Vlad the Impaler please." She said. The clerk turned to head into the back to hunt down the requested item.  
  
"I didn't know you were into this stuff." Ron commented as he walked up behind her.  
  
"I'm not, it's my sister's birthday soon and she loves this kind of thing." Zita pulled out her wallet and hunted for her money as the clerk returned with then requested model.  
  
"Ah, little tike is going through that rebellious goth phase huh? That's cute." Ron chuckled.  
  
"She's twenty-five." Zita replied drolly, grabbing her bag and walking out of the store with Ron trailing behind her.  
  
He rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Everyone needs a hobby..." He grinned bashfully and she shook her head again before stopping dead in her tracks. "Zita?" He waved his hand in front of her face, but she just stared straight ahead. He looked to see an electronics store where she was staring, with a huge sign out front that exclaimed 'Forever for Everlot!'.  
  
"Speaking of hobbies..." Zita rushed over to the electronics store and went inside with Ron trailing close behind her. "They have it, I didn't even know it was out yet!"  
  
Ron blinked and looked down at the case she was staring at. "Foreverlot: Everlot Expansion Pack"? He rubbed the back of his neck again in confusion. "I don't get it, don't you already own Everlot?"  
  
"It's an expansion pack Ron, it makes the game bigger and more fun." She stood up and rushed to the clerk behind the counter. "How much is Foreverlot?" She asked like a giddy schoolgirl waiting for a lollipop.  
  
"Forty bucks." The clerk replied coldly.  
  
Zita's giddiness immediately turned into a sour frown, and she let out a sigh. "Alright... thanks anyway." She turned away from the clerk and gave Rom a slight smile when she saw his downcast expression. "Ah, I can come back after my next paycheck. Don't worry about it."  
  
Ron looked down and exchanged a sly glance with Rufus, who was perched on his shoulder. The Mole-Rat shook his head warningly, but Ron held up his hand in a gracious manner. "I can get it for you." He marched past her, ignoring her mystified expression. "One copy of Foreverlot please." He held his chin up high as the clerk slammed the box on the counter between them and rang up the total. "Thank you my good man. And keep the change." Ron winked and handed the man fifty dollars, ignoring the fact that it was all the money he had left.  
  
"Wow, Ron! Thank you so much!" Zita grabbed him and kissed him ferociously on the cheek, grinning ear-to-ear when she pulled back. "I promise I'll pay you back!"  
  
"Hey... don't mention it..." Ron swayed back and forth in a dreamlike daze with a wide smile on his face. Zita grinned and slid her hand into his as they exited the store, with her clutching the back with Foreverlot close to her chest. Ron stumbled after her until he finally regained some of his senses as they reached the exit.  
  
"Well, I should get home and get my sister's gift wrapped. I also want to try my new game." She grinned and hugged Ron tightly. "Thanks again!"  
  
"Sure no problem... I'll see you tomorrow." Ron swayed weakly as Zita kissed him on the cheek again and pulled her hood up to cover her hair. She stuffed her shopping bags in her jacket and ran outside, running through the rain toward her house.  
  
Rufus jumped up on Ron's shoulder and glared at him, shaking his head reproachfully. "I know, it was stupid to give her the money for Kim's present... but it made her so happy." Ron explained. Rufus rolled his eyes and shook his head as he climbed down his shirt into one of his pants pockets. "I'll figure something out..." Ron pulled his hood up and stepped outside, ignoring the pounding rain as he made his way home.  
  
________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Rrrraaaaaaa!" Kim Possible leapt from the plane, flying through the air with her arms outstretched. The ground came up fast, but she wasn't worried. She whirled in the air and landed as light as a feather, putting her arms up as she faced Shego in a barren glade in the middle of a vast forest. "Drakken won't get away with his plans Shego!"  
  
Shego shook in her boots, looking around nervously until she burst into tears and collapsed to the ground. "You're right... I can never beat you! Please forgive me!" She threw her arms up and bowed down to her in reverence. Kim looked over at Bonnie, who smiled and got down on her knees, throwing her arms up and bowing in reverence as well.  
  
She was surrounded by people bowing to her. "Kim! Kim! Kim!" They shouted, as if her name alone was enough to save them. "Kim! Kim! KIM!"  
  
Kim shot straight up with a surprised gasp, looking around. She was sitting in her desk at school, staring up at a very irate looking teacher. The other students were all suppressing laughs and chuckles, except for Ron of course, who had a look of concern on his face. "Kim Possible... you may be a hero but you still have to pay attention in school. There's a place for sleep... it's called bed."  
  
"Yes sir... I'm sorry." Kim rubbed her eyes and sat up straight just as the bell sounded.  
  
"Remember everyone that you have to have a paper on the Civil War finished by Friday. I'll see you all tomorrow." The teacher nodded. Kim watched everyone else rush out of the room before prying herself out of her seat and marching out to the hall tiredly. Ron was standing beside the door, waiting. He pushed off and approached when he saw her.  
  
"Kim, what's going on? I've never seen you like that before. And it's your birthday and everything..." Ron told her.  
  
"My birthday is TODAY? Ooohhhh man..." She grumbled. She marched up to her locker and pried it open before throwing her books inside and slamming it shut. "I don't think I can take it Ron... I was out half the night in the freezing wind and rain... I was up the other half of the night with a cold."  
  
"Geeze, maybe you should take a few days off until you get back on your feet." Ron suggested.  
  
"People in my line of work don't get days off Ron." Kim sighed. "I'm not a politician, what I do is important."  
  
"Well just relax and enjoy your special day K.P., if anyone's earned it it's you." Ron placed one hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Kim sighed and gave him a weary smile.  
  
"Yeah, okay..." She rubbed her eyes again and stood up straighter than before. "You're coming by for the party tonight right? Tim and Jim claim they have something for me." She smirked. Ron knew that whenever the little twin geniuses decided to do something special, it meant a commotion regardless of what it was supposed to do.  
  
"I'll be there without a doubt." Ron assured her with a grin. "I'll catch you there, I was going to swing by and see what Zita's doing, she wasn't at class today."  
  
"Sure, see you there Ron." Kim waved and pushed the double doors of the school open, walking through the dreary afternoon weather toward her home. The rain had stopped and the wind died down, but the clouds stuck around overhead seemingly just to keep the sun from warming anything up. She stroked her temple with one hand, she just wanted this day to go away.  
  
________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ron walked slowly up to Zita's house with his hands in his pockets, trying to think of something to get Kim that didn't cost any money. Yeah right. A wise man once said all you get for free in life is your own right hand. He wasn't sure what it MEANT exactly, but it didn't really help him... unless...  
  
He looked down at his hand thoughtfully. "There's an idea." Rufus slapped him on the cheek with one claw with a squeaky 'nuh-uh!' "Hey, it was just a thought." Ron shrugged, nearly sending the mole-rat tumbling down to the ground. "Sorry." He knocked on the front door.  
  
An older woman with slightly graying hair opened the door and looked down at him like she was waiting for him to try to burst in and steal a pile of stuff. "Yes?"  
  
"Uh, hi... I'm Ron Stoppable, and I was wondering if I could talk to Zita." Ron explained. The woman continued to stare at him like a petrified owl for the next five minutes. She didn't even blink the entire time. "Uh... please?" Ron squeaked.  
  
"She's in her room playing one of her games." The woman stepped aside and watched Ron walk past her with those unbelievably creepy owl eyes.  
  
"I'll just go see what game it is then..." Ron flashed the older woman a smile and rushed up the stairs. He could feel Rufus shivering from his pocket, where he'd leapt when Zita's mom had first opened the door. "I know buddy, I know." He stroked the pocket Rufus was hiding in as he peeked inside one of the doors on the second floor of the house.  
  
Zita was sitting in a comfy looking chair in front of her computer. She looked eerily like her mother at the moment with those wide owl eyes staring unblinking at the monitor, where her Everlot character was leaping from tree-branch to tree-branch like a female version of Tarzan. She had dark circles under her eyes, a clear signal that she hadn't even slept last night.  
  
"Enjoying your game huh?" Ron asked as he pushed the door all the way open and stepped into the room. Zita didn't notice him, staring at her computer screen with a blank look on her face. "Did you... still wanna do something today?" Ron walked up behind her, but she still didn't respond to him. He stroked his chin and moved his hand above her head, bringing it down in a sweeping arc to obscure her view of the game.  
  
The response was instantaneous. Zita whirled in her swiveling chair and leapt at him, screaming incoherently at the top of her lungs. Ron and Rufus screamed while Ron lunged back away from her, tripping on his own foot in his scramble to get away and slamming into the far wall with a loud thump. Zita though had already gone back to her game by that time, staring at the monitor with that same creepy owl-eyed expression.  
  
Ron slowly dragged his butt along the floor toward the door, staring at Zita to make sure she didn't explode at him again. When her eye turned toward him he bolted for the door, lurching outside and slamming the door behind him. He leaned against it panting, with a shivering Rufus hiding deep inside of his pants pocket.  
  
"That was way beyond creepy..." Ron said to himself. Rufus poked his head out of the pocket with a whimpering 'uh-huh.' "Well, she'll probably calm down by tomorrow..." Ron pushed himself away from the door and walked toward the exit, muttering to himself. "Maybe Kim could tell me something about what's going on..."  
  
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Kim shoved her bedroom door closed behind her and shuffled up to her bed, dropping onto it with a comfortable moan. "Softness... you greet me at least." She grabbed the blanket and pulled it around her shoulder. Already her eyes were beginning to droop, and she was almost sound asleep when she heard her mother calling from downstairs.  
  
"Kim, come pick out the kind of cake you want!" Ms. Possible called. Kim grunted and opened one eye.  
  
"Any is fine!" She called back.  
  
"Now I want your birthday to be perfect, it'll only take a minute!" Her mom shouted back. Kim sighed and mustered up the willpower to push the cloudlike blanket off of her and shuffle downstairs into the kitchen. "Now I have this cute chocolate cake here, or this tasty marble one. Which do you want?" Kim poked the marble with her finger and turned to shuffle back to her room. "Hold on, there's still the decorations."  
  
With a grumble Kim shuffled back over to the kitchen table to help her mother pick out the decorations for the party. When that was finished the shuffled back to her room and made her way thankfully to her bed. She was only a foot away from it when she heard her mother again.  
  
"Kim, Ron is here to see you!" Her mom shouted. Kim growled and shook her fists in the air, then sighed and shuffled back out to the living room. Ron was a bit paler than normal, Rufus looked freaked out as well.  
  
"Hey Ron, what's up?" Kim yawned.  
  
"Oh... nothing really..." His voice trailed off like he was hiding something, but Kim was too tired for curiosity. "I just thought since I don't have anything else to do we could hang out until the party starts. I could get you something at Bueno Nacho."  
  
"I don't think heartburn is going to do me any good." Kim muttered.  
  
"How about coffee then?" Ron asked. Kim quirked an eyebrow, intrigued.  
  
Thirty minutes later Kim and Ron are sitting in one of the booths at Bueno Nacho, where Ron is having his way with a bean burrito while Kim sucks down her third cup of coffee. "You were so right Ron, I feel a lot better now. Not tired at all." Kim smiled, slapping the now empty cup down on the table.  
  
"Hey, when I have ideas they're sometimes good ones." Ron replied as he poured an extra packet of hot sauce onto his burrito before taking a huge bite. "When is your birthday party exactly?"  
  
"In an hour or two. As long as nothing happens I should be good to last the length of the party." As if on cue, a massive explosion rocked the restaurant down to its foundations. A fireball arched into the air outside, vanishing into the dark gray clouds overhead as plumes of thick black smoke billowed after it. Kim looked down at her Kimmunicator as it beeps for her attention.  
  
She pulls it out and Wade appears on the screen. "Kim, there's been an ex-"  
  
"We noticed." Kim replied drolly. "We're checking it out." She shut the communicator and dashed out of the restaurant. Ron shoved his burrito into his mouth and took off after her, with Rufus clinging to his shoulder to keep from being dislodged as he ran.  
  
They soon arrived at a building that had the roof blown clean off, and had debris littering both the floor and the surrounding block. There were pieces of electronics mixed in with the stone and cement. A man noticed as they approached and raised his hands.  
  
"There's nothing to worry about Kim Possible, it was just a slip by one of our technicians. He put a wire in the new server backwards... he's new." The man smirked. Kim and Ron looked at the towering structure of what had apparently been an internet server before it had gone up like a fireworks display.  
  
"A server? What were you going to store in that thing, Texas?" Ron asked incredulously.  
  
"We just build 'em, we don't ask questions. I assume it was supposed to be used as a server for Everlot though, their subscribers have been growing by the thousands lately." The worker told them. Kim looked up at the massive shell curiously.  
  
"That's a lot of data for a simple video game..." Kim looked at the worker and smiled. "It looks like you don't need us here though, and we have something we have to do." She gestured for Ron to follow as she turned to walk away.  
  
"Thanks for checking on us Kim." The worker waved jovially before turning back to the cleanup. Kim would have liked to investigate, but she'd promised her parents she would be there for her party.  
  
________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Most of the presents were already open... with few surprises. Kim's dad got her a new shirt while her mom got her a pair of matching shorts. They were comforting, if unimaginative. Ron was growing more worried by the second though, he hadn't had time to look for anything to get her. He supposed he would just have to bite the bullet and tell her what happened when it came time to give her his present... he hated honesty. It was so hard.  
  
For the moment though, Jim and Tim were walking up to Kim with a box held behind their backs. They spoke in an alternating fashion, one after the other sometimes with a single train of thought. "Our present is one you might recognize Kim." Jim said. "Because we got the idea from one of YOUR adventures." Tim added as they held the box out to her.  
  
Kim grabbed the box curiously and pulled it open, taking out a sophisticated looking helmet. "It does look familiar..." She said. Ron recognized it though. It was the same kind of device that had trapped him and Zita inside Everlot through some weird virtual reality system he gave up trying to understand a long time ago.  
  
"It's a supped up version of the Immersion Caps." Tim told her, though Jim continued the train of thought. "But we tinkered with the output/input ratio." "Now not only does it put you into virtual reality, but it puts you in control of your virtual surroundings." "A stroke of genius if I don't say so myself." "Huzzah!" The boys watched her proudly as she examined the helmet.  
  
"So basically you gave my a device to let me experience my own imagination in high-resolution video and surround sound?" Kim asked confusedly. The twin boys blinked and exchanged a glance before sighing in unison.  
  
"It seemed like a good idea at the time..." Tim said guiltily. Kim chuckled and reached down to pull them both into a hug.  
  
"I love it boys, thank you." She sat up and everyone looked at Ron expectantly. Ron looked around at the Possible family, a blush creeping across his face.  
  
"Uh... ee... I... Oh... um..." Ron rubbed the back of his neck nervously and gave Kim a pleading look. "Can I... talk to you in the other room, Kim?"  
  
"Of course..." Kim gave him a strange look, but stood and followed him into the kitchen.  
  
"Look Kim, I feel rotten but... I..." I spent your money on Zita, I'm a horrible friend, I'm an impulsive jerk who shouldn't be let out of an insane asylum. "I... lost your present... when I was mugged..." He said haltingly.  
  
"Mugged!? Ron, are you okay!?" Kim exclaimed worriedly. "They didn't hurt you did they?"  
  
"No, I'm fine, but they got away with the bag I was carrying with your present in it... I'm sorry." Ron looked down at the floor guiltily.  
  
"Hey don't worry about it. You're worth more than the present." Kim gave him a sweet smile, tearing his heart apart since he knew she was giving it to him under false pretenses. Before he could say anything else Kim yawned and her eyes half closed. "Geeze... I think that coffee is wearing off... I feel like I'm about to pass out all of a sudden..."  
  
"Come on, you deserve some sleep." Ron helped her head into the back toward her bedroom, where she collapsed onto the bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow. Ron grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to the back of her neck, brushing a bit of her hair out of her face. "I'll make it up to you Kim, I promise."  
  
He stood up and walked toward the door, turning to look back at her. "Goodnight." He flipped off the lights and left, closing the door gently behind him.  
  
________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The next morning the clouds were gone and the sun was shining brightly. But then Ron woke up and discovered that not only were the clouds still there, but it had begun to drizzle again. At least there was no lightning this time he supposed. He got dressed, ate breakfast, and made his way to school hoping to catch up with Kim and Zita.  
  
Kim was there looking remarkably refreshed after an extra long night's sleep... but Zita was, one again, a no-show.  
  
"No luck huh?" Kim asked with a regretful smile. "Maybe she just got the flu or something." She suggested. Ron knew that wasn't it, she was occupied with that game... now that he thought about it though, the halls seemed awfully empty today.  
  
"Hey, have you noticed that almost nobody showed up to class today?" Ron asked. Kim looked around, then nodded.  
  
"Now that you mention it yeah... maybe there's a bug going around." Kim suggested. She looked down when her Kimmunicator started beeping. She took it out and turned it on. "What's the sitch Wade?"  
  
"Big bad bug on the internet." Wade told her seriously. "It looks like it's taking over all over the place."  
  
"A computer virus?" Kim asked. "That's not really my area... computers are more your thing."  
  
"But this virus is infecting people." Wade replied. "Check it out." A small picture of a video game box appeared on the screen. "Parents nationwide have reported their children staying home and becoming unnaturally attached to their computers, even going wild, after playing the Everlot expansion pack, Foreverlot."  
  
"But that's what Zita was playing when she attacked me..." Ron muttered under his breath so that the others wouldn't hear him.  
  
"I've already done an analysis on the game, it looks like the visuals are laced with subliminal messages. But the signal is pretty weak... they would need more power to make it take over completely."  
  
"Like a server with enough capacity and bandwidth to fit Texas in?" Kim exchanged a suspicious glance with Ron.  
  
"Bingo." Wade told her.  
  
"Can we just blow up the game's existing servers or something?" Kim asked.  
  
"That's my idea." Wade replied. Kim was about to reply when a siren approached from behind. They both looked to see an ambulance rush by with its siren blazing and its lights flashing.  
  
"Hold that thought." Kim closed the Kimmunicator. "Come on Ron, let's go see what's going on." She took off in the direction the ambulance went with Ron following close behind her. They found it a short time later stopped at a small apartment complex in the middle of the town. They made their way upstairs to where the paramedics had the door open.  
  
They walked inside and Kim found the paramedics in one of the small bedrooms. "What's going on here?" She asked.  
  
"We don't know, her parents found her like this." One of the doctors replied. They set the unconscious and pale girl on the stretcher. "As far as we can tell, she's in a coma... but we can't find any physical cause for it." He sighed and gestured for his colleagues to wheel the unconscious girl out of the apartment, past her sobbing mother.  
  
"Mind if we take a look around?" Kim asked.  
  
"Well it's technically a crime scene, but we'll make an exception in your case Kim." The paramedic stepped aside and let the two teens walk into the room. Ron scratched his head.  
  
"Why are we here?" Ron asked.  
  
"The timing is too convenient, there has to be a connection." Kim told him. Ron sighed and started walking through the room, looking around. It looked just like his bedroom... only girlier. He didn't see anything that could put someone into an unexplained coma.  
  
He stopped when he saw the girl's computer on the other side of the room. He walked up to it and read the screen. "Game over... this is Foreverlot." Ron turned back to Kim. "Kim, I think I found our connection." Kim looked over and approached, reading the screen for herself.  
  
"So dying in the game sent her into a coma?" Kim quirked one eyebrow and took out her Kimmunicator. "I have to talk to Wade about this..." Ron stood up straight, not paying attention anymore. Anyone who played this game couldn't get off of it... and if they died they went into a coma? But Zita was playing the game already... what if she died in the game?   
  
Ron whirled and started to run out of the room, with Kim shouting after her. "Ron, where are you going!?" Kim exclaimed. Ron ignored her and made his way out fo the building, running down the street to Zita's house. He knocked loudly and waited for her mother to answer.  
  
"Yes... oof!" She grunted as he pushed her aside.  
  
"Sorry, life-saving business!" Ron charged upstairs and burst into Zita's room, gasping when he saw her. The circles under her eyes had grown darker, and her clothing was hanging off of her as though she didn't even try to make herself look good. Her skin was dirty and her hair was a mess, as if she only slept when she finally passed out and didn't bother bathing.  
  
"Zita, you have to stop playing." Ron marched up to her and knelt down beside her. "Hey, Zita!" He shouted. She ignored him, staring at the screen with that same blank expression on her face as before. "Enough is enough." He grabbed her arms and tried to pull her away from the computer.  
  
Zita let out a yell and tried to hold onto the desk, but Ron grabbed her around the waist and managed to yank her back, slamming himself into the wall. Zita howled and tried to get back to the desk, but Ron held onto her as tightly as he could. "Snap out of it!" He shouted at her, trying to calm her down. Suddenly she whirled and punched him in the face, sending his head back into the wall. "Hard... knuckles..." Ron slid down the wall to the floor, holding his nose.  
  
Zita stumbled weakly back to the computer, where she plopped back into the chair and put her hands on the mouse and keyboard, looking relieved that her character was still there when she got back.  
  
Ron held his nose as he pushed himself up the wall to his feet. "She's too far in... I have to keep her from dying... but I suck at that game, and I would get stuck too..." Ron rubbed his head, trying to think. Suddenly it came to him, and he looks up again, filled with renewed determination. "Don't worry Z, I won't let anything happen to you." 


	2. Part 2

"I think it's just me on this one Wade." Kim told her friend through the Kimmunicator. "And I don't think it would be a good idea to destroy the servers after all."  
  
"I concur." Wade shook his head. "Whoever designed this thing was pretty good about it... but I'm still better." He beamed with pride and held up a disk. "This should be able to reverse the signal and return all of the affected people still playing to normal. But it has to be inserted physically into their main server." He told her.  
  
"Why can't you just upload it?" Kim asked.  
  
"Their server is locked up tighter than the Pentagon. I'm sending you the disk and faxing you the location of the developer's building." Wade looked down and typed at his keyboard. In a moment a disk popped out of the side of the Kimmunicator and a piece of paper came out the top. "Are you sure you can handle this alone?"  
  
"It's probably better this way, it's easier for one to sneak than two. I'll call you when I save the world Wade." Kim turned off the Kimmunicator and shoved it into her pocket before taking off down the street. The building, as luck would have it, was right in the center of town a few blocks away from her home. She crept up to the outer wall and peaked in through the gate.  
  
Guard were posted outside the main door with assault rifles clutched in their arms. "Geeze, is this place a video game developer or a prison?" Kim muttered to herself. She crept to one side and leapt up, grabbing the top of the wall and hefting herself up. It was slippery thanks to the light rain that was still falling, but the dark clouds suited her purpose here just fine.  
  
She slipped down the other side of the wall and crept toward the guards from the side, slinking along the wall. One of the guards scratches his head and looked to the side, seeing her approach. "Hey, who're..." He didn't have time to finish when Kim charged at them and leapt in a spin. One foot knocking the forward guard unconscious.  
  
She used his head as a springboard to avoid the second guard's gunfire. She whirled through the sir and kicked him in the chest, landing hard on the ground beyond the unconscious guards. She looked up as the alarms started going off and the windows flashed red. She sighed. "Fine, roof it is." She took out her grappling hook and fired it up to the roof, where it latched on.  
  
She zipped rapidly up the side of the building, but several guards rushed out of the front door, spotting her on the wall. "Fire, fire!" they all took aim and opened fire on her.  
  
"Darnit!" Kim leapt away from the wall, clinging to her grapple-gun with one hand as she arched through the air. She landed on the wall again and did a one-handed backflip to avoid the barrage of bullets that hounded her, plunging into the wall with small cloud of debris or breaking through glass windows. "No going up... gotta go in!"  
  
Kim flipped to her feet and leapt away from the wall, doing a forward spin through the air as the bullets trailed right behind her. She came back toward the wall and extended her legs, smashing through one of the windows and slamming into the floor amid shards of broken glass. She rolled to a stop halfway through the room, winding up in a crouching position.  
  
"Ugh... crude... but effective." She stood up straight and looked around. "Now to find out what floor I'm on and get to those servers..."  
  
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Ron slammed his fist into the Possible family's door, staring at it irritably. "Come on, come on already! I'm on a time limit here!" He shouted. Finally the door opened and Kim's mom peered out at him.  
  
"Ron, is something the matter?" She asked.  
  
"I need to talk to Tim and Jim, it's an emergency." Ron told her. Mrs. Possible stepped aside and let him rush in, making his way immediately back to the twins' bedroom, where they were tinkering with another small gadget of theirs. "Hey, Wonder Twins, I need you to help me with that helmet thingy you made. I want to hook up to a game with it." He told them quickly.  
  
"The helmet was for Kim." Tim told him. "What do you want to use it for?" Jim asked.  
  
"Come on, I'm Kim's best friend. Can't you just help me out?" Ron asked. The twins exchanged a glance, then stood up and cleared their throats in unison, staring at him gravely. Ron sighed and shook his head. "Twenty bucks each."  
  
"Deal!" The twins ran up to shake his hands before leading him into Kim's room, where the helmet was sitting by her computer. "It's a simple matter of hooking the helmet up to the computer and running the program you want to hook to the internet with." Tim told him. "Be careful though, this thing can mess with the game's coding for up to 20 virtual feet around your character. If you get caught hacking the authorities could get very, very mad." Tim said. "Big trouble." Jim added.  
  
"I'll take my chances." Ron took a seat in front of the computer, for the first time noticing that Rufus was no longer in his pants pocket. "Rufus?" He looked around in surprise, but didn't see the mole rat anywhere around. He debated whether to go after him or Zita... but he knew the little guy could take care of himself. Zita could need his help now. "Hook me up boys."  
  
"You may feel a slight pinch." Tim said as he slid the helmet onto Ron's head. "Or an electric shock, we're not sure." Jim told him. "We didn't have time to test it before we gave it to Kim." Tim added. Before Ron could protest the helmet was activated and Ron found himself standing in a pixilated glade wearing his normal clothing.  
  
"I'm in... now... imagination alters the virtual reality..." He thought of himself wearing a thick white suit of armor. The space around his body shimmered, and sure enough, reshaped itself into a full suit of armor. "Booyah! Score one for Ron!" He took a step forward... and stumbled, weighed down by the heavy suit of armor. "Ugh... maybe something a little lighter..."  
  
He reshaped his full suit of armor into a more serviceable diamond vest and climbed to his feet. "Now, for a little direction." He concentrated, and a map of the entire game world appeared in front of him, showing the locations of all the characters. He spotted Zita fighting her way through a large forest called the 'Forest of Darkness'.  
  
"And finally... transportation." He held out his hand and concentrated. A large white stallion appeared in front of him, and just for good measure Ron added a horn to its head to make it look like a unicorn. He climbed on it and pointed in the direction of the forest. "Hi-ho Unicron, away!" They took off through the virtual field at an amazing speed, leaving behind everything and everyone they passed.  
  
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Kim crept through the long hallways of the building, referring to the map whenever she could. It didn't help much though; the layout of this floor didn't seem to match any of the floors on the blueprint. Could Wade have gotten a fake blueprint? Did someone actually outwit Wade on the computer? That was a frightening thought.  
  
She scooted into a nearby closet to avoid a cluster of guards as they came down the hall, then lunged to a nearby room with the strange symbol over the door. She leaned against the door and listened as still more guards moved past. "There are just too many of them..." She shook her head and looked around the room she was trapped in.  
  
There were several ceiling high filing cabinets set against one wall, and a row of computers against the other. Kim quirked one eyebrow and walked up to one of the computers, pressing a key to turn off the screen saver. "Let's see what you guys are doing." She did a search on the word 'virus' but came up empty. "Hmm..." She did another search, this time on the word 'subliminal' but this also came up empty.  
  
"What's going on...?" She did another search, this time on the word 'control', this one turned up something. "Ah-hah, I knew it." She clicked into the file... but it turned out to just be a list of the game's control commands. "This is weird... it's almost like the developers had nothing to do with it... but then why the big server and extra security?"  
  
She whirled in surprise as the door to the file room began to open, and a pair of guards walked in.  
  
"Hmm... I could have sworn I heard something in here." One guard scratched his head.  
  
"I told you nobody could get in here when we're on increased alert." The second guard said as they turned to leave. Kim stared down at the door from the top of the filing cabinets, wiping her forehead with one of her sleeves.  
  
"Score one for reflexes." She moved to climb down from the cabinet, but her weight pulled it off balance and it tipped forward. "Uh-oh!" Kim let go and landed in a crouch, doing a backflip to avoid having the filing cabinet land right on top of her. Kim blinked in surprise when she saw a secret passage behind the cabinet.  
  
"Accidents leading to important discoveries... I guess Ron must be rubbing off on me." Kim shrugged and started to make her way down the passage. She didn't have many other options at this point anyway.  
  
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Ron made his way through the forest, using his mini-map to guide him toward Zita. Soon he heard her through the trees, locked in combat with what looked like a group of troll-like monsters. Her armor was dented and worn, and her blade didn't look as sharp as it once had been, but still she fought on. She was panting heavily though.  
  
"Don't worry Zita, I'm coming!" Ron leapt off of his unicorn and landed beside her, holding out one hand. A small handle appeared in his palm, from which a blue blade of energy slowly materialized. He gripped the handle and held it close to his chest. "Let the Force handle this!"  
  
Ron leapt forward into the pack of trolls, slicing three in half with one swing of his lightsaber. The others swept up behind him, but the handle shimmered slightly only to have a second blade appear out of the back, going right through one of their chests. "I've always wanted to use one of these." Ron grinned, throwing the double-edged lightsaber into the pack of trolls.  
  
Ron moved it about with his hand, slicing through every troll within his twenty foot radius before calling it back and letting the blue energy retreat back into the saber. "The Force wins again." Ron solemnly tucked the handle into his belt, but Zita marched up behind him and shoved him. "Hey, I just saved you!"  
  
"You're a hacker!? That is SO cheating!" Zita yelled at him. "If you want to play the game play it right!" She whirled to march away from him angrily.  
  
"Whoa, hold on, you've got me wrong!" Ron ran to catch up with her. "I'm only hacking to save YOU!"  
  
"This is just a game character Ron, I don't need you to save it." Zita rolled her eyes.  
  
"If it's just a game then turn it off." Ron told her. Zita stared at him for a few moments, then narrowed her eyes.  
  
"I... don't want to."  
  
"You can't, and it's because of some signal thing." Ron explained quickly. "Look I don't get it either, but if you die here, you'll go into a coma... and... and I don't want that to happen." Zita stared at him intently for a few minutes.  
  
"You're serious... aren't you?" Her voice quivered slightly. Ron was about to reply, but they wee interrupted by the clomping of horses hooves moving toward them. They both looked further up the clearing to see a huge black knight galloping toward them. "It's one of the moderators... they must have detected your hacks! Ron, they'll boot you from the game, or worse!"  
  
"Then let's get out of here!" Ron grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his unicorn just beyond the treeline.  
  
"Stop, hacker!" The knight shouted, galloping after them. Ron turned his unicorn and charged through the forest as fast as he could.  
  
"Ron, don't go this way, it leads to-" Zita was cut off when the horse suddenly found its legs swinging in mid air, with a huge patch of forest far below them. "A cliff..."  
  
"Come on imagination, you've never let me down before, don't fail me now..." Ron gripped the unicorn's mane tightly, closing his eyes. He felt the pixels shifting under his touch, soon to solidify into solid steel. He opened his eyes to see a two-seated personal hovercraft beneath them.  
  
"Wow, nice detail work." Zita said admiringly. Ron grabbed the handles and turned on the engine, sending them sailing skyward just before they hit the tree line, snapping the tops of several trees off before they pulled up.  
  
"Now all we have to do is keep you out of harm's way until Kim can fix the problem." Ron yelled back at her.  
  
"No, we can't!" Zita shouted back. "Some groups back in Nefaria were planning to stage a battle, winner take all! There were dozens of players involved! If they go through with that now..." She trailed off. Ron looked back at her. If they went through with it, dozens of those players could wind up in comas, never knowing how real the danger was right now.  
  
"Alright..." Ron sighed. "We'll go save everybody." He turned their hovercraft to take them back toward Nefaria after consulting his mini-map. What was it with the women in his life and saving people? Was he just a hero magnet or something?  
  
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Kim emerged from the small hole into an elevator shaft. With a sigh, she leapt out to grab the cables and slide down to the bottom, since the blueprints stated that the servers were on the bottom floor. Of course, the blueprints hadn't done her any good so far, but the basement still seemed like the most logical place for such an important piece of equipment to be.  
  
She reached the bottom and crept out, emerging into a small room that looked like an admissions office. Several guard sat behind the desk, with one clerk looking ready to take admission slips. Kim ducked down and crept up to her side of the desk, sliding along it toward the clerk.  
  
She poked the top of her head over the top, seeing that the clerk was between herself and the guards' table. The clerk looked down at her and quirked one eyebrow in confusion. In a flash Kim grabbed the edge of the desk and flipped onto her back on top of it, kicking the clerk with both legs. The clerk tumbled back into the table, spanning it and falling to the ground amid wooden splinters, under which the guards' guns were also buried.  
  
Kim leapt over the first guard's punch, landing behind him and back-kicking his stomach into the countertop. The second guard lunged at her, but she rolled to her back and used her legs to send him sailing over her, rolling backward to her feet in order to jump again into a twirl, from which she planted her heel into the third guard's chin, knocking him into the back wall.  
  
Kim straightened up and moved calmly toward the back door, letting the guard on the counter slide to the floor as she made her way down the next hallway. She stopped when she heard a voice from around the nearest turn.  
  
"I gotta admit, this was a pretty good plan." Shego's voice echoed as if from the middle of a big, barren room. "It's hard to believe you were the one to come up with it. Hiring that insider to the company must have spurred along the thinking process."  
  
"Well thank you Shego." Drakken's voice replied enthusiastically.  
  
"And to think, we'd probably have all those geeks under our control by now if you hadn't decided to try to finish that final server yourself." Shego commented.  
  
"A minor setback." Drakken replied. Kim slid up to the edge of the wall and peeked around, to see Drakken pacing around the large warehouse-like room while Shego leaned idly against a server quite like the one that had detonated at the manufacturing plant. The entire wall was lined with the things. "It'll be finished soon enough, and then I will have all the nerds empty the bank accounts of the entire world into one account... mine! And of course... whoever controls the world's money... controls the world!"  
  
"Hallelujah or something." Shego replied drolly. Kim slinked back against the wall, growling to herself. She had to get past them without being seen. If she was spotted they could destroy the servers and send everyone playing the game into a coma... things were so much easier when it was only HER life at stake during big battles.  
  
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The virtual sky was pretty and blue... now if only the real sky would follow suit Ron wouldn't have been quite so miserable lately. The hovercraft streaked through the sky, leaving behind it plumes of dark smoke. At least, the smoke trailed back for 20 feet before dissipating. Apparently stuff Ron imagined couldn't go more than 20 feet from him before it vanished.  
  
"There, it is!" Zita leaned against his back and pointing down at a small village, where two large groups of people were already marching toward each other. "We're already too late!"  
  
"Not yet." Ron replied, taking their vehicle into a nosedive. Zita clung to his back fearfully, but Ron just smirked. The vehicle vanished several feet from the ground, while Ron and Zita floated gently down to the ground between the warring factions. The other players stopped to stare at them in amazement as Ron set down.  
  
"You can make us fly? Why didn't you do that at the cliff instead of making the hovercraft?" Zita asked.  
  
"Hovercraft had more style." Ron replied, looking around at the gathered groups. He cleared his throat and held up his arms. "People of Nefaria, I bring you a message!"  
  
"Go away st00pid n00b hax0rz!" One of the men in the crowd shouted.  
  
"Uh... what?" Ron looked back at Zita. She just rolled her eyes, so Ron turned back to the gathered players. "Uh... anyway. You can't fight today! If you want to hack each other apart tomorrow, or maybe the day after, go ahead. But not today!"  
  
"We had to set this up weeks in advance." One of the players complained. "We're not stopping just because some stupid hacker tells us to!" The toher players all let out a roar of agreement, forming a tight circle around Ron. Ron gulped and looked around. He could have probably taken them all thanks to his helmet, but it wouldn't be any better if he killed them than if they killed each other.  
  
Ron whirled when he heard a strange hum from behind him. A dark portal opened in thin air, and the black knight from before stepped through. Ron whirled in another direction, but this one was blocked by a white knight. Three more, green blue and red, kept him completely blocked in. Ron looked around at them worriedly.  
  
"You're coming with us for violating the terms of service agreement, Mr. Stoppable." The black knight told him.  
  
"Ron, run away! You can't fight them! They run this game!" Zita shouted from somewhere in the crowd. Ron looked around. Everyone was watching them... so as long as Ron was fighting, they wouldn't fight each other. A distraction until Kim could find a way to stop the signal.  
  
Ron was suddenly clothed in a black leather trench coat and boots, with thick dark shades perched on the end of his nose. He reached up to adjust his glasses, then held out his hand in a beckoning gesture.  
  
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Kim crept along the outside of the storage room, rolling behind one of the servers before Drakken or Shego could see her. She slid along the back wall, looking for a place to insert the disk. She knew every server had to have a software port, if she could just find it.  
  
"You know something Drakken, I don't tell you enough how much I like working with you." Shego said softly.  
  
"Really? You do!?" Drakken exclaimed in delight.  
  
"No, I just wanted to cover up the sound of my footsteps." Shego yelled as a pair of arms closed around Kim from behind. One of her arms wrapped around Kim's throat in a fierce headlock. "I knew you would show up sometime Kim Possible, we've been at this for way too long for you to keep getting the drop on me."  
  
"Then maybe it's time for you to retire!" Kim grabbed her arm and threw her body forward, sending Shego hurtling to the ground. Shego rolled on the ground and wound up in a crouching position as Kim leapt at her again with a sweeping roundhouse kick. Shego leaned back to avoid it, her gloved hands glowing green as she lunged for Kim.  
  
Kim cartwheeled to the side, out into the middle of the room to avoid trashing the servers with their fight. She gasped when a pair of blue arms wrapped around her torso.  
  
"I got her!" Drakken shouted excitedly to Shego with his head right beside Kim's. Kim growled and kicked one of her legs up vertically, slamming it into Drakken's face. "She... got me..." Drakken collapsed to the ground in a daze as Shego pressed the attack again, forcing Kim to leap into a roll as her opponent tore holes in the floor with her energy gloves.  
  
"Sit still you little weasel!" Shego shouted as she punched her fight right into the ground next to Kim's head.  
  
"Even when I'm sitting still you can't hit me!" Kim knees her opponent in the stomach and rolled aside, jumping to her feet and doing a forward flip to slam both feet into Shego's chest.  
  
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Ron whirled as the black knight swung his ax in a huge arc, burying it deep into the ground where Ron had been standing moments before. Ron stomped down on the handle, snapping it off before whirling again and planting a solid kick to the knight's chest, sending him stumbling back. He turned to the others just as they dismounted their horses and approached with weapons out.  
  
"Hey, get in line." Ron thrust his hand forward, and three of the knights were sent flying back into the surrounding crowd. "I'm more of a man-to-man person anyway."  
  
The green knight lunged at him with spear in hand, but Ron easily kicked the point to the side and stepped up to him, punching him in the chest. His fist bounced off of the thick armor, stinging like he'd just punched a brick wall. "Ow! Stupid pain simulating helmet!" Ron exclaimed. The knight took advantage of his distraction go grab him and lift him up, slamming him into the ground. "Okay, that's not fair!"  
  
"What do you know of fair, hacker?" The knight asked darkly. Ron growled as his forearms shimmered for a moment. He then clenched his fists, releasing three blades from the knuckles of each hand. He slashed the blades across the knight's chest, pushing it back before bringing both legs up to shove the knight away and flip to his feet.  
  
"Come on, who else wants some?" Ron grinned, crossing the claws over his chest. All five knights moved to surround him, each one except for the black knight holding their massive weapon in front of them. "What ever happened to one-on-one man-to-man duels?"  
  
"We may PLAY the Middle Ages, but this isn't the Middle Ages kid." The black knight replied.  
  
"Okay, fine." Ron let the claws slide back into his forearms, lowing his arms to his sides. "You want to play mean? Let's play mean! BOOYAH!" He raised his arms, and two large automatic assault rifles appeared in his arms. His screams mingled with the sound of gunfire as the bullets rocketed toward the knights gathered in front of him.  
  
He finally stopped firing, and examined his work. The knights stared at him, then looked down at themselves. There wasn't a scratch on them. "What the..." Ron looked down at the ground, then howled in frustration and threw the guns down. "Stupid twenty foot limit!" He screamed. Suddenly a hand grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him face first into the ground, burying his face into the ground.  
  
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Kim and Shego traded blows with lightning fast precision, each searching for a weakness in the other's defenses. But neither gave an inch, even though both were beginning to tire. Kim grabbed Shego's wrist and pushed it back, sweeping her legs out from under her. Shego fell to her back in a roll, kicking Kim in the face with one foot on her way to her feet.  
  
Shego lunged and kicked Kim in the chest, sending her stumbling back into the one of the massive servers against the wall. A loud 'clunk' rang through the storage room, and Kim looked back fearfully. The server didn't look to be damaged... those trapped inside the game must have still been safe.  
  
Kim sighed in relief and looked at Shego again, who was lunging at her with a fist surrounded by energy. Kim didn't want to move or Shego would doubtlessly damage the server... so she stood and took the punch to the stomach, grunting in pain as the energy burned into her skin. Shego brought her other fist around and punched her in the jaw, sending her hurtling to the floor.  
  
Kim groaned and pushed herself to her hands and knees, shaking from the pain of the wound on her stomach. "Well well... Kim Possible on her knees. That's a welcome sight."  
  
"Then take a picture... because you won't see it again..." Kim lurched to her feet facing Shego, putting her arms up. Shego shook her head and raised her hands, which were again glowing green with energy. Kim looked to the side, her eyes going wide when she found the disk slot on one of the servers. If she could just get the disk in there then everyone in there would be safe.  
  
Shego noticed her glance and smirked. "Think you're going to take out the servers? Not likely, you do and it'll be the ones playing the game who get punished." Shego lunged at Kim suddenly, slamming one fist into her chest hard enough to knock her clear off her feet.  
  
Kim hit the ground and rolled to her feet. Instead of attacking Shego again she lunged for the server, reaching into her pocket for the disk Wade had sent her before. She was almost there, but Shego caught up with her and slammed her leg into Kim's stomach, doubling her over with pain since that was where she was burned before.  
  
Kim grunted when Shego kicked her in the face, sending her to her back on the floor. The disk slipped from her hand, landing on the cold metal floor. "It's the end, Kim." Shego brought up her glowing green fist, taking aim right at Kim's face.  
  
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Ron grunted and pushed his face up from the ground, using his imagination to fling the knight on his back to the ground several feet away. Ron climbed to his feet, but the others were already bearing down on him. "Okay... this is getting ridiculous..." He held out his hands and a lightsaber appeared in each one, igniting in both blue and green.  
  
He lunged forward slashing with all his might. The pixels that made up the knights were quickly several in several places, and one by one they vanished into the ground as the game counted them dead. Ron figured since they were moderators they wouldn't be affected by the signal that was affecting everyone else... at least, that was his hope.  
  
When the knights were gone he raised the sabers skyward. "Booyah!" He shouted. A grunt escaped his lips however then he felt something plunge into his stomach. He looked down to see a dagger's hilt sticking out of him. "Boo... crap..." He stumbled and fell to his back, amid cheers from the other gathered players.  
  
"Ron! Move it, move it!" Zita pushed her way through the crowd and ran to Ron's side, kneeling down beside him. "Ron, are you okay!?"  
  
"Sure... it's just a game character..." Ron grunted. "Hurts like the dickens though..."  
  
"Leave him alone, he's just looking for a laugh at our expense like all hackers." One of the other players exclaimed. Others yelled their agreement, but Zita stood and whirled on them angrily.  
  
"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. He's not here to toy with us, he wouldn't do that! He's here to save us... from ourselves!" She looked around at all the gathered players. "We're all stuck here... the creators of the game are using us for something, and we all played right into their hands! He came to warn us!" She looked down at him. "He's here to... help me."  
  
Ron gave her a slight smile as she leaned down over him again. "Ron... thank you for coming to my rescue..." She put her hands on his cheeks and lifted his head up, leaning her face down toward his...  
  
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Kim rolled to the side, clutching her stomach painfully as Shego brought her fist down in a straight punch that would go straight through her head. Kim grunted and rolled to the other side quickly, grabbing the disk and using her other hand to push herself down between Shego's legs. She brought her legs up and kicked Shego in the bottom, sending her stumbling forward while Kim rolled to her feet and lurched for the server.  
  
She slammed the disk into the slot, and the server started humming madly. "What was that!?" Shego demanded.  
  
"Just a counter program to your little plot." Kim grinned, holding her burnt and bruised stomach. She really had to start wearing longer sweaters so that her stomach wouldn't be so vulnerable. "All the people you trapped are being freed as we speak, so you'd might as well leave."  
  
Shego stared at her, then looked down at Drakken, who was still unconscious on the floor. "My contract ends when the plans go awry..." She looked at Kim again. "But I think I can throw in a freebie!" She lunged at Kim suddenly, punching her in the face and sending her up against the side of the server. Shego grabbed her around the throat, holding her against the server off the ground.  
  
"Grk..." Kim fought for breath and struggled to loosen Shego's grip, but the older woman held on tightly.  
  
Shego brought back her glowing fist. "Hasta la vista Kimmy!" She brought her fist around to send it into Kim's stomach. But Kim grabbed the server with her legs and moved her body out of the way, letting Shego's hand plunge into the machine. Electricity surged through her body, drawing a shrill scream from her throat.  
  
Kim dropped to the ground, rubbing her neck as Shego twitched, struggling to pull her hand out of the machine. "Maybe next time!" She ran for the exit and down the hall, but stopped when the elevator came down the shaft with the doors opening on the bottom. Six guards had automatic rifles pointed straight at her. Kim raised her hands. "I can explain..."  
  
They lowered their weapons and stepped out, where one of them spoke. "We know Kim, our moderators in the game told us about Ron Stoppable in the game talking about some signal. We decided to investigate and traced it down here. Where's..." He was cut off by an explosion further down the hall from the storage room. Kim and the guards rushed back, but there was nobody there. Just the remains of the detonated server beside its intact brothers.  
  
"They're gone..." Kim muttered. Of course, they always got away. But at least she'd managed to free the people who'd been hypnotized by the game...  
  
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Zita's lips were only inches from his... but Ron's head fell back against the ground, no longer supported by her hands. Ron opened his eyes and saw the players around him had all vanished. Kim must have managed to free them, as he knew she would. "Great timing Kim..." He muttered as he reached up in real life and pulled the helmet off.  
  
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Zita blinked in surprise, suddenly feeling weaker than she ever had before. She tried to stand up from her chair, but she swayed and fell to the ground in a heap, moaning. "Oohhh man... I can barely move..." she groaned. She blinked in surprise when she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her. "Rufus?"  
  
The Naked Mole Rat nodded and held out a drink, which she realized she sorely needed. She took the food and drink that the animal offered to her, eating it bit by bit to restore her lost strength.  
  
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A while later, Zita had been found by Ron and moved to the hospital, where the doctors wanted to make sure she regained her strength properly, along with all of the other people in town who had been affected by the game. Ron was waiting in the lobby for the doctors to tell him he could go visit Zita when Kim walked in, carrying Rufus on her shoulder since he'd refused to rejoin Ron.  
  
"Ron, what is wrong with Rufus exactly? He's been real huffy lately." Kim asked.  
  
"He's mad at me for accidentally leaving him at Zita's..." Ron sighed, cupping his chin in his hands. "I can't do the right thing at all lately..."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Kim sat down beside him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Kim, I didn't get mugged. I spent all my money on Zita... that's why I couldn't get you a present." He stared at the floor, avoiding her gaze. "You do so much for me, and I couldn't even hold onto my money to get you a gift..."  
  
"Ron... what I said still stands." Kim smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "You're more important than any presents. You're the only person the Possible family has to all of our events. You're like a brother to me. I don't care if you run out of money." She pulled him into a hug. Ron smiled and hugged her back firmly, letting out a sigh.  
  
Rufus sighed and crawled from Kim's shoulder to Ron's, hugging the side of his head. "Can you forgive me too Rufus?" Ron asked. Rufus nodded enthusiastically, giving him an 'oh-yeah!' "Thanks little buddy..." Ron looked up when the doctor approached.  
  
"You can visit her now, but don't stay too long. She needs her rest." The doctor told him.  
  
"Thanks." Ron stood up with Rufus once again on his shoulder, bidding Kim a silent farewell before heading into the back to Zita's room. She was lying in one of the hospital beds in a paper down, looking a bit better than she had the last time Ron saw her. She looked over at him as he entered, giving him a weak smile.  
  
"There's my hero..." She said.  
  
"Not really... Kim's the one who saved everybody. You probably could have taken care of yourselves until she freed you all." Ron walked up to the side of the bed. Zita took his hand in hers, staring up at his eyes.  
  
"That doesn't matter... you're still a hero for coming to help me... and if it wasn't for you, a lot of people would be much worse off, you know that." She gripped one of his hands with both of hers, smiling. "I've never had anyone do all that for me before."  
  
"Well... you know..." Ron muttered nervously. Zita grabbed him by the cheeks and pulled him down, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. Ron closed his eyes, enjoying the moment while he could. He still felt like a heel for everything he'd done... but somehow she was able to make him feel better with something as simple as a kiss. He was glad he'd gone to help her... because he wouldn't want anyone else kissing him.  
  
THE END 


End file.
